


we can roll ourselves over

by girlsarewolves



Category: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Pre-ship, Romantic Friendship, Sibling Relationship That Can Be Read as Incestuous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-31
Updated: 2013-01-31
Packaged: 2017-11-27 15:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/663399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlsarewolves/pseuds/girlsarewolves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She always wanted to know what really happened to their parents, but with that knowledge and Muriel's wand come secrets, like bricks building a wall between her and her brother. So she seeks out another.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we can roll ourselves over

**Author's Note:**

> I just really wanted to write Gretel/Edward. But some Hansel/Gretel snuck in there along the way (can be read as platonic if incest isn't your thing).

* * *

The sky is cloudless and glittering with stars, but they offer little light. It is a new moon, and the fire's died out.  
  
Hansel's mumbling in his sleep, curled up on one side with his arms folded over his chest. Only a few feet away Ben's laying on his back, inconsistently snoring. Neither one notices when Gretel slips from her make-shift bedding and pulls something out of her bag.  
  
She clutches Muriel's wand and quietly slips over to Edward, who is sitting a couple of yards away; he always tries to stay up and keep watch through the night. She almost always finds him slumped over in the morning, snoring so loud it rumbles. She thinks it's cute.  
  
Edward is still awake tonight, though, as she settles down next to him. He looks at her curiously, eyeing the wand for a moment and then looking back at her.  
  
"Please, don't tell them," she whispers. She doesn't think she actually has to. Her new friend isn't much of a talker in the first place, and Edward is still more comfortable with her than Hansel or Ben. Gretel also knows, deep down, that Edward is more than her friend; he's...loyal, to her. Like he had been to Muriel before he'd rebelled.  
  
"Be careful," he grunts as softly as he's able. He doesn't look happy, though.  
  
Gretel smiles and leans against him. Her head rests more on his bicep than it does his shoulder. "I'm being careful. To be honest, I'm not even sure why I took it. But there's a part of me I never knew existed. I didn't know I was a witch until Muriel told us what really happened to our parents." She stops there. She has so much more she needs to say, but she wants to say those things to Hansel.  
  
Only Hansel will never understand. Hansel won't like it, won't accept it. He's barely made peace with the fact that their mother was a witch, that Mina was a witch; that he'd _grown close_ to a witch.  
  
"There are times he looks at me now, and I feel like he's looking for something, like a sign that I'm not different, that I'm not really...a _witch_ ," she whispers, not even registering that the words are coming out of her mouth until Edward takes both of her hands in one of his, his giant fingers somehow managing to avoid touching the wand. Gretel blinks several times and wipes her eyes before she moves her head to rest her chin near his shoulder, smiling. "I'm okay."  
  
Edward doesn't appear convinced. He turns his head back towards camp, to Hansel, then stares down at her again. "Still loves you."  
  
Warmth spreads through Gretel, and she scoots closer to Edward and curls her body towards him. She notices the way he stays very, very still, uncertain. She pulls one hand free and lays it on top of his. "Thank you."  
  
Edward nods but remains still otherwise. They stay like that for a while, his hand holding hers holding Muriel's wand, while Gretel remains curled against him. He doesn't seem to mind, so she stays like that and listens to the thunder of his heart beating.  
  
She doesn't know what she's doing, but she can't do it alone. It's the first time she's actively chosen to go behind her brother's back. It fucking scares the shit out of her. So when her fingers start to rub over the smoothed wood of the wand, and Edward's hand doesn't let go, doesn't recoil away, she wraps her free arm around his and hugs.  
  
"Be careful," he grunts again.  
  
Gretel nods, staring up at the cloudless, moonless sky. "I will be."


End file.
